1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of graphical user interfaces (GUI) and in particular to directional navigation within such interfaces.
2. Related Art
Particularly in the field of set top boxes for television-based Internet access, such as Internet TV, directional navigation within GUI""s has been problematic. The menus for such systems are sometimes displayed as boxes or positions to select on the television screen. Typically, the user is navigating with a remote rather than a mouse or track ball. Typically the remote has rather primitive directional capabilities, such as buttons with arrows indicating up, down, right, and left, please see e.g. PCT application WO 98/43381, FIG. 3. Sometimes the interpretation of these arrows by the set top box is buggy, with a directional command giving the user some direction other than what the user expected.
It is an object of the invention to make directional navigation within a GUI more flexible and accurate.
The invention provides use of a data processing method or apparatus which receives a user input specifying a vector; determines a fitness of a plurality of menu options based on a current position, the vector, and the Plurality of menu options; and supplies a target menu option based on the fitness.